Axioms
297 axioms · page 3 of 7
Every detection system faces a fundamental tradeoff between…
Every detection system faces a fundamental tradeoff between sensitivity and false alarm rate — catching more real signals necessarily increases false positives.
Repeated false alarms reduce the response to genuine threats
Repeated false alarms reduce the response to genuine threats through psychological conditioning.
The nervous system habituates to repeated, predictable…
The nervous system habituates to repeated, predictable stimuli by withdrawing attentional resources.
The mere presence of other people increases physiological…
The mere presence of other people increases physiological arousal and amplifies dominant behavioral responses.
Humans acquire new behavioral patterns through observational
Humans acquire new behavioral patterns through observational learning when they attend to, retain, can reproduce, and are motivated to imitate observed behaviors.
Behavior occurs when three elements converge simultaneously
Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt.
Humans escalate commitment to failing courses of action…
Humans escalate commitment to failing courses of action when they bear personal responsibility for the initial decision.
Humans discount future rewards hyperbolically rather…
Humans discount future rewards hyperbolically rather than exponentially.
The human brain treats the future self as neurologically…
The human brain treats the future self as neurologically distinct from the current self.
People disproportionately stick with default options even…
People disproportionately stick with default options even when alternatives are objectively equivalent or superior.
People care not just about outcomes but about the comparison
People care not just about outcomes but about the comparison between what they got and what they would have gotten had they chosen differently.
The strength of association between a stimulus and response…
The strength of association between a stimulus and response decreases as the temporal gap between them increases.
Dopamine neurons encode prediction error rather…
Dopamine neurons encode prediction error rather than pleasure itself
The human mind is not adapted to interpreting how multi-loop
The human mind is not adapted to interpreting how multi-loop nonlinear feedback systems behave.
Double-loop learning requires questioning the framework…
Double-loop learning requires questioning the framework itself, not just correcting actions within it.
Learning occurs when outcomes differ from predictions…
Learning occurs when outcomes differ from predictions, producing a teaching signal proportional to the prediction error.
The mind operates as multiple semi-autonomous processes…
The mind operates as multiple semi-autonomous processes (agents) rather than a single unified decision-making entity.
The brain maintains distinct memory systems for declarative…
The brain maintains distinct memory systems for declarative knowledge (conscious, hippocampus-mediated) and procedural knowledge (unconscious, basal ganglia-mediated).
Satisfying the psychological needs of autonomy, competence…
Satisfying the psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness drives intrinsic motivation.
Action possibilities exist in the relationship between…
Action possibilities exist in the relationship between an agent and their environment, not in objects or perceptions alone.
Behavior follows the path of least resistance due…
Behavior follows the path of least resistance due to the human nervous system operating as an efficiency-seeking machine under energy constraints.
Automation degrades the very human skills needed to handle…
Automation degrades the very human skills needed to handle cases automation cannot address.
Every moment spent exploring is a moment not spent…
Every moment spent exploring is a moment not spent exploiting, and vice versa.
As response speed increases, accuracy decreases along…
As response speed increases, accuracy decreases along a predictable curve in biological information processing systems.
No external entity has more right to direct your thinking…
No external entity has more right to direct your thinking than you do.
Most people do not experience themselves as the authority…
Most people do not experience themselves as the authority over their own decisions when a competing authority is present.
Autonomy is the felt sense of being the author of your own…
Autonomy is the felt sense of being the author of your own actions, not freedom from structure.
You necessarily trust your own cognitive faculties…
You necessarily trust your own cognitive faculties as a starting point — there is no external vantage from which to validate your own mind without using that same mind.
When organisms are repeatedly exposed to aversive situations
When organisms are repeatedly exposed to aversive situations they cannot control, they stop trying to escape — even when escape becomes possible.
Humans have a deep, evolutionarily encoded need…
Humans have a deep, evolutionarily encoded need for belonging that makes social disapproval register as a survival threat.
Self-efficacy beliefs are formed primarily through mastery…
Self-efficacy beliefs are formed primarily through mastery experiences—direct history of succeeding or failing at specific behaviors.
Variable ratio reinforcement schedules are the most…
Variable ratio reinforcement schedules are the most extinction-resistant reinforcement pattern in behavioral psychology.
The prefrontal cortex requires time to override limbic…
The prefrontal cortex requires time to override limbic responses.
The world is too vast, time too constrained, and individual…
The world is too vast, time too constrained, and individual intellect too limited for any person to gather first-hand evidence for more than a tiny fraction of their beliefs.
Implementation intentions (if-then plans) significantly…
Implementation intentions (if-then plans) significantly increase goal attainment by creating automatic cue-response links.
Emotions function as evaluative signals that provide…
Emotions function as evaluative signals that provide information about events that matter to the cognitive system.
Human cognition contains multiple motivational drives…
Human cognition contains multiple motivational drives that can generate competing demands simultaneously.
Values exist in a hierarchical structure with terminal…
Values exist in a hierarchical structure with terminal values (ends) and instrumental values (means) occupying distinct structural positions.
Verbal labeling of internal states activates prefrontal…
Verbal labeling of internal states activates prefrontal regulatory circuitry and reduces limbic reactivity.
Task-switching generates attention residue that persists…
Task-switching generates attention residue that persists after the switch and degrades performance on subsequent tasks.
Social rejection and anticipated social rejection activate…
Social rejection and anticipated social rejection activate the same neural pain processing regions as physical pain.
When a consistently reinforced behavior stops being…
When a consistently reinforced behavior stops being reinforced, the behavior initially intensifies before declining (extinction burst).
Humans systematically prefer to be consistent…
Humans systematically prefer to be consistent with their previous active, public, and effortful commitments.
Human motivation exists on a spectrum from controlled…
Human motivation exists on a spectrum from controlled to autonomous.
Human attentional systems evolved to prioritize signals…
Human attentional systems evolved to prioritize signals with high immediacy over signals with high importance.
Positive emotions broaden cognitive repertoire and build…
Positive emotions broaden cognitive repertoire and build durable personal resources.
Cognitive reappraisal (changing meaning before emotion…
Cognitive reappraisal (changing meaning before emotion forms) has lower cognitive cost than expressive suppression (inhibiting emotion after it forms).
Knowledge of cognitive biases does not reduce susceptibility
Knowledge of cognitive biases does not reduce susceptibility to those biases.